It has been quite a week. Tuesday afternoon an earthquake rattled many of our facilities around the Northeast. Little known fault lines named Lakeside and Spotsylvania near Mineral, VA, the epicenter, made themselves known over several days with at least seven aftershocks.
The Washington National Regions Records Center in Suitland, MD was the hardest hit with damage to the masonry at the tops of the fire walls and in the fire egress stairs. The building is closed until all safety issues are addressed.
Other damage to NARA facilities included some loosened mortar in the Rotunda and a cracked wall at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue; a cracked window, cold storage vault disruptions, and minor parking garage damage at College Park; and a damaged panel in the pavilion at the JFK Library.
Certainly nothing like our friends on the West Coast have come to take for granted, but powerful enough to leave lasting memories.
And just when we thought it was safe to go back to work, Hurricane Irene heads our way with heavy winds and downpours. The FDR Library server room in Hyde Park, NY had a significant leak and lost power. The staff at our Market Street facility in Philadelphia report some flooding and puddles of water in the basement. And one minor roof leak in Suitland.
Lots of staff contributed to our successful preparations for the worst, ensuring that the records of our country were protected, and I am proud of them. This is very much a “can do” agency and this past week had demonstrated that over and over.
So, bring on the locusts!
We’ve got plenty of malathion to take care of a few pesky locusts if they’re daring enough to come our way – pity we couldn’t come up with any technology to keep the earthquake or hurricane away!
Been there, done that! I still remember how we Nixon Project peeps all pitched to handle wet materials at the NARA Pickett Street annex in Alexandria when Gloria hit the DC area in 1985. Thanks for posting this at your blog, Big Dude. That’s a very nice and very well deserved thank you to NARA’s current employees. As a former NARA archivist, one who worked at times at Archives 1; at WNRC (or Archives 1 Plus, as I call it); and at the Pickett Street annex, I, too, am very proud of them. And the locusts? Your insouciant tone at the end speaks volumes! Where’s the Like button?